


working out

by GhostsandGhouls



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Racing, Awkward Confession, Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostsandGhouls/pseuds/GhostsandGhouls
Summary: The steady beat of the music provides the focus for training. It’s as rigorous as usual. Iwaizumi enjoys it, most of all, he enjoys the view of one of his team members. Ushijima Wakatoshi. He was a marvel, tall and buff, mysterious. The whole package. Iwaizumi finds that he can stare for hours. Ushijima is usually lost in his training that he doesn’t notice—if he does, he never gives it away—so Iwaizumi continues to stare whenever he can. It’s subtle enough, most of the time he does it while he’s running on the treadmill because he can watch using the mirror.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41
Collections: Haikyuu Rarepair Exchange 2020





	working out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [6sins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/6sins/gifts).



> rated for some hinthint thoughts
> 
> **Iwa’s gym fit:** <https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/843087992734028157/>  
> **Iwa’s post-gym fit:** <https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/507147608031540483/>
> 
> **Ushi’s gym fit:** <https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/57350595244047989/>  
> **Ushi’s sweatpants:** <https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505740233158042741/>

The steady beat of the music provides the focus for training. It’s as rigorous as usual. Iwaizumi enjoys it, most of all, he enjoys the view of one of his team members. Ushijima Wakatoshi. He was a marvel, tall and buff, mysterious. The whole package.  Iwaizumi finds that he can stare for hours. Ushijima is usually lost in his training that he doesn’t notice—if he does, he never gives it away—so Iwaizumi continues to stare whenever he can. It’s subtle enough, most of the time he does it while he’s running on the treadmill because he can watch using the mirror.   
  
They have a big race coming up soon and he’s going through his usual drills. It isn’t until Iwaizumi reaches the bench that he needs a spotter and luckily, Ushijima is the only one in the room, on one of the exercise bikes—or maybe it’s unlucky, Iwaizumi feels like he turns into a mumbling embarrassed school-boy whenever he talks to Ushijima.  Iwaizumi takes a deep breath then walks across to Ushijima. “Hey,” He greets, voice a little gruff. “Could you spot me?”   
  
“Sure.” Ushijima turns the bike off and climbs down— _ Jesus, fuck. Those thighs. _ Iwaizumi thinks, not even attempting to look away. Ushijima grabs his water bottle and takes a large gulp. Iwaizumi watches the way his throat bobs, and swallows, feeling a little dizzy.   
  
“Uh,” He clears his throat and looks away, leading Ushijima to the bench. “Gonna do about sixty reps to start.” Ushijima nods, he places his bottle to the side then stands at the end of the bench, where the bar is. Iwaizumi sets up the weights and lays down on the bench.   
  
This position gives Iwaizumi a whole new view of Ushijima. He looks taller, and those thighs near Iwaizumi’s head make too many scenarios rush through his brain. Iwaizumi closes his eyes for a moment then focuses on the bar and starts his reps. Sometimes his eyes do trail to look at Ushijima’s thighs, how good he looks in that tank top, how nice it would be to have him alone and kiss him.   
  
Iwaizumi grunts, and it’s easy to play off as effort with his reps. Ushijima glances down and Iwaizumi almost slips up, his attention fading away from the bench-press and Ushijima has to catch the bar. “Are you okay?”   
  
“Yeah. Shit,” Ushijima puts the bar back into place. “My hand just cramped up.”   
  
Ushijima nods at Iwaizumi, he walks around so he’s at the side of the bench and kneels down, reaching out to gently take Iwaizumi’s hand. “I know of some exercises you can do to reduce cramps.” He gently rubs his fingers and thumb over Iwaizumi’s hand, massaging slowly. “Hand massages are good too, perhaps you should seek a professional.”   
  
“Oh.” Iwaizumi blinks slowly, watching as Ushijima’s fingers rub over his hand. “Thanks. I didn’t know you could do this. You’re a good team-mate”   
  
Ushijima looks up at Iwaizumi and slowly moves his hands away. “I thought we were friends.”   
  
“Yeah! We are.” Iwaizumi is a little surprised, but he can agree easily because he does want to be friends with Ushijima. “It feels better now.”   
  
“Good,” Ushijima gets up and moves back at the end of the bench. “Are you going to continue?”   
  
Iwaizumi nods, he doesn’t trust himself to say anything else. He lays back on the bench and grabs the bar so he can return to his reps. He stays focused this time, he’s not sure he’d be able to handle another hand massage if he made the same excuse again about having cramps. Ushijima was too nice.   
  
He pauses in his reps and Ushijima’s head tilts to the side, obviously questioning the sudden pause. “Ushijima, when we’re finished, would you like to come out for a few drinks, or tea?”   
  
“Yes, that would be nice. I think I’d prefer tea.”   
  
“Okay, yeah. Post-workout tea, I’d like that.” Ushijima nods and Iwaizumi focuses back on finishing his reps. They switch places once Iwaizumi is done and they discuss their favourite types of tea.   
  
After the reps are finished, they split off to go finish their usual work-out routine. Ushijima the individual weights to start going through his drills and Iwaizumi takes to one of the treadmills to start his HIIT. He’s excited to finish so he can spend a few hours with Ushijima.   
  
After their work-out is over, they hit the showers, clean up then change. Iwaizumi grabs his bag and glances at Ushijima, he knows he needs to go home and put his bag away, possibly even change from his sweatpants and loose tee to something a little nicer. It probably wasn’t a good look to go out in the clothes he wore just for walking to the gym.  He can practically hear Oikawa chiding him for it.  _ “Don’t go out like that, Iwa-chan! Put some effort into your appearance, you’re a good looking guy.” _ It might be stupid for Iwaizumi to care so much, Ushijima didn’t seem to really care about fashion.   
  
“Iwaizumi-san,” Iwaizumi snaps out of his daze and looks up at Ushijima. He’s changed out of his shorts into sweatpants and looks to be wearing the same t-shirt, it can’t be since he’s got an identical one in his hand. “Are you ready to go?”   
  
“Go?” Iwaizumi asked, feeling a little dazed.   
  
“For tea.”   
  
“Oh.” He looks down then back up. “I was going to go home and change into something nicer.”   
  
Ushijima looks at Iwaizumi, his eyes searching up and down. “I think you look fine.”   
  
Iwaizumi blushes brightly, he shrugs, trying to act nonchalant about the simple compliment. “O-okay, let’s go.” They head out of the gym and Iwaizumi feels more nervous as Ushijima leads him to his car. He makes himself comfortable in the passenger seat, playing with the seatbelt between his fingers, their bags are neatly packed in the back seat.   
  
It’s only a short drive to the café, but it feels like much longer for Iwaizumi and his eyes glance to Ushijima as subtly as possible throughout the drive. When they arrive, he jumps out of the car first and takes a deep breath as if being alone with Ushijima in a stuffy car had completely winded him.   
  
Ushijima looks so calm when he gets out and Iwaizumi frowns at the ground. He can’t help but feel a little disappointed that Ushijima didn’t look as affected as what Iwaizumi felt—he shakes his head and follows Ushijima into the café. He can always dwell on this later, the horrible sinking feeling that comes with realising Ushijima only sees him as a friend and teammate.   
  
They spot a table at the right side of the building, down about halfway through the café, and sit across from each other. Ushijima passes a menu to Iwaizumi then takes one for himself. “Would you like to share a slice of cake?”   
  
Iwaizumi perks up, deep down he does know that Ushijima is offering to be nice, to be friendly, but it sounds more like something that’d happen on a date.  _ It’s not a date _ , he reminds himself and looks back at the menu but doesn’t pay much attention to the options. “Yeah, sure.” They spend a short while deciding then place their menu’s back and Ushijima goes to order, with Iwaizumi watching from the table.   
  
He almost wants to scream his feelings in Ushijima’s face, just to get a reaction. It doesn’t take long for Ushijima to return, and he smiles softly at Iwaizumi. “It shouldn’t be too long. How have you been? I know that you’re good friends with Oikawa-san, will you miss him when he leaves?”   
  
“Dunno. It’ll be weird without the dufus around but he’s gonna go be fucking kick-ass elsewhere and I wouldn’t hold him back just because we’re friends. Besides, maybe being on opposing teams will make it a little easier for me to destroy him on the track.”   
  
“Perhaps. Competition is never a bad thing.”   
  
“Yeah, he certainly decided to start that up with you. Though he never managed to beat you.”   
  
“I hope that a change in a team may give him the chance. He’s a very good driver and I believe in him.”   
  
Iwaizumi snorts softly. “He’s good. I don’t think he’d expect to hear that from you. I think he’s got you down as a rival.”   
  
“We could also be friends. We all bring something different to our team, and I don’t think that being his rival has ever made us bad as a team or less successful.”   
  
Iwaizumi nods. It’s interesting to hear what Ushijima has to say about it, and a little surprising that he wants to be friends with Oikawa. They seem so different and Iwaizumi can’t imagine them getting along as friends - it’s nice, Ushijima is sweet. Iwaizumi can happily add another reason why he likes Ushijima. “It made him stronger. I think.”   
  
“You like Oikawa-san. Everybody notices that.”   
  
“We're best friends. Have been since we were in diapers. Of course, I like him.”   
  
Ushijima hums, they’re interrupted by the waitress and Iwaizumi frowns at his cup while he thanks the waitress. “I know that, Oikawa-san had mentioned it before.”   
  
“He has a huge mouth.” Iwaizumi shrugs, he brings his cup up, his eyes flicking back up to Ushijima with the movement, and he starts to blow on the tea. “Good heart though, he cares a lot about any of his friends, it’s not just me.”   
  
Ushijima nods. “Yes. He does seem like the type to be that way. But I was referring to your romantic relationship.”   
  
Iwaizumi almost drops the cup in surprise, he places it down as carefully as possible and gathers himself. “No. He’s like a brother to me. I dunno, guess I’d say someone like you would be more my type.” And there it was, he couldn't take it back. “Strong, reliable and kind.”   
  
“I understand,” Ushijima nods and Iwaizumi feels like he could cry, there’s no reaction that gives away Ushijima feeling the same. “Many of my friends think that Tendou and I are together. You’re more my type.”   
  
Iwaizumi freezes, barely breathing. It’s similar to what he’d said to Ushijima, but the reasons Iwaizumi gave could be related to anyone. Ushijima hadn’t said anything else, just:  _ you’re more my type, _ and those four words were enough to make his brain switch off, his ears buzzing as he tries to focus on something.   
  
“Sorry,” Iwaizumi snaps back and blinks at Ushijima. “That was bold of me to say. I hope it won’t change our friendship.”   
  
“Wait, what? There are a lot of people like me in the world, I’m sure.”   
  
“No, not like you. They may share your characteristics but nobody is  _ you _ or like you. They may be strong or noble or friendly. But only you are Iwaizumi Hajime, and that’s what I like too.”   
  
If it’s possible, Iwaizumi’s brain short-circuits all over again and blinks slowly at Ushijima. “Wait.” He shakes his head and squints down at the cake. “Some people would see this as a date,” He looks up, hoping to catch a reaction on Ushijima’s face. He doesn’t. “I don’t have a problem with that. I’d like it, I like you.”   
  
Ushijima finally reacts, his cup tips slightly and he quickly mops up the mess with a napkin. “You do?”   
  
“I do!” Iwaizumi urges and Ushijima gently puts his cup down. “Not only as a friend. I promise. I like this, sitting here and chatting with you but I’d like to do this more. As a date, as boyfriends eventually.”   
  
“Me too,” Ushijima cracks a rare smile and Iwaizumi’s heart races up into his throat. “I like you. We could arrange a date for later in the week if you’d like.”   
  
“Yeah, I would. I can text you. Can’t I?”   
  
“Of course, anytime. We should dig into this cake,” Ushijima is still smiling and Iwaizumi is sure that his heart will jump out of his chest at any moment. “And our tea will be getting cold.”   
  
Iwaizumi laughs softly and nods. “Yeah, we really should.” They pick up a fork each and start to dig into the cake, occasionally sipping their tea and talking about the week.  _ Their upcoming date _ and both of them are beyond happy, smiling the whole time.

**Author's Note:**

> SO, this is what the boys are following for their work out (not all is mentioned so they can be ignored), yes I actually researched this.
> 
> F1 simulator - weighted steering wheel prepares for the stress their forearms will be put under when competition begins.
> 
> HIIT - performed on a treadmill, on an outdoor trail, or even on a bicycle. It involves running or cycling at sprint speed for 30 seconds followed by a 90-second jog or rest. This is repeated five to 10 times.
> 
> Drills of: mountain climber & rotate, inchworm, open & close gate, the pike and the v-sit and steer, kneeling pall of the press, half ball side plant & leg raise, single-leg Romanian deadlift and the goblet squat, (the dumbbell push-up, supine pull-up -- 90 reps from a total of three sets).


End file.
